Sunday, February 28, 2010

Lawsuit launched over common Parkinson’s drug

From the National Post:
An Ontario judge has approved to a class-action lawsuit by Parkinson’s patients who say a commonly used drug turned them into “relentless” gambling addicts, causing some to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The decision to certify the unusual class action is the first such ruling in Canada among several cases that have been launched over “dopamine-agonist” drugs, designed to counter stiffness, shaking and other symptoms of the nervous-system disease.

A growing number of studies have linked the medicine to excessive gambling, sex addiction and other compulsive behaviour in a minority of Parkinson’s sufferers.

The certification judgement by Justice George Strathy of the Ontario Superior Court deals with Permax, which was taken off the market in 2007 because of other, heart-related side effects. About three dozen Parkinson’s patients have already signed up with the class-action, said Darcy Merkur, one of the lawyers handling the lawsuit. ...more

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